IF the AFL North West season is to go ahead as planned, Tamworth Kangaroos president Brett Douglas will be one of the busiest people in the game.
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Not only will he lead the club, but he will also help coach the women's side alongside Daniel Johnson and the men's side alongside Greg Vallender.
However, the man affectionately known at the club as Big Dog believes he will be able to handle his new responsibilities.
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"We're very lucky to have a really good committee this year, so I think it should work out pretty well," Douglas told the Leader.
"So far, we've had really strong numbers turning up for training, especially on the women's side of things.
"There's going to be plenty of first-year players again this year, while a lot of our players from last year will be back again.
"Things are looking up in that perspective."
Despite the burgeoning numbers in the women's ranks, Douglas said the men's training numbers were still somewhat lacking.
"It's not looking too bad given there are still some other sports coming to an end, but we would like to see a few more guys turning up," he said.
"We'll have a lot of younger players this year that will still be playing a bit of junior footy, so the more training we can get into them the better.
"It's really important to us to develop these young guys this season."
As of Wednesday, the fate of the annual Crossroads Cup tournament due to the Coronavirus pandemic remains unclear.
However, Douglas said should the event go ahead as planned, the Roos were unlikely to field a men's side in the tournament.
"From what I know, there's a few events and other things on, so I doubt we'll have a men's side at the Crossroads Cup," he said.
"In saying that, there's every chance we could have enough numbers to field women's teams on the day.
"The numbers there have been really positive and it would be good to give them a chance to all have a good run.
"They are as keen as mustard to get into it, so hopefully it's still going ahead."
Douglas said the men's side would need to rely on a blend of youth and experience this season.
"We will still have our older guys like Elliot Bowen and Luke Robertson having a run and passing on what they know to the next generation of young guys," he said.
"There's quite a few really talented young guys in our group and it might be tough at times this season, but the future certainly looks bright.
"If we can really bring these young guys along, I think we can really play some exciting footy this season."
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
